Malaysia possesses staggering statistics that make Vietnam's U17 team extremely nervous.

In both occasions of advancing to the Southeast Asian U17 finals, Malaysia's U17 team achieved wins to become champions.

Vietnam's U17 team faces a significant opportunity to create history in the 2026 Southeast Asian U17 final against Malaysia's U17. Following an emotionally charged comeback victory over the reigning champion Australia's U17 in the semifinals, Coach Cristiano Roland and his squad not only secured a spot in the final match but also moved very close to a particularly special milestone.

Currently, Vietnam's U17 has been crowned champions three times in 2006, 2010, and 2017, matching the achievements of Australia's U17 and Thailand's U17. However, both Australia and Thailand have been eliminated from this year's tournament, opening a chance for Vietnam's U17 to become the most successful team in the competition's history if they defeat Malaysia in the final.

Nevertheless, the challenge ahead is not simple. Malaysia's U17 team has twice reached the tournament final and both times emerged as champions. They successively defeated Indonesia in 2013 and Thailand in 2019 to claim the title. This demonstrates the formidable resilience of this team in decisive matches, despite their heavy loss to Vietnam in the group stage.

In their opening match, Malaysia's U17 suffered a 0-4 defeat against Vietnam's U17. However, after that stumble, Coach Shukor Adan's team quickly recovered strongly. They successively overcame Indonesia with a 1-0 score, defeated Timor Leste 2-0, and then beat Laos's U17 3-0 in the semifinals to secure a rematch with Vietnam in the championship final.

Coach Shukor Adan stated that Malaysia brought only a U16 squad to the tournament, with even half the players being from the U15 age group, aiming to prepare for the 2027 Asian U17 qualifiers. He emphasized that many of his players had their first international match against Vietnam and considered it a valuable learning journey. According to him, advancing through a group containing both Vietnam and Indonesia is already a very proud achievement.

Meanwhile, Coach Cristiano Roland continues to maintain an extremely impressive record with Vietnam's U17. After the victory over Australia, he extended the unbeaten streak to 15 matches, comprising 11 wins and 4 draws. The team scored 56 goals and conceded only 4. If they defeat Malaysia in the final, the Brazilian strategist will not only secure his first title with Vietnam's U17 but could also become the first South American coach to win a championship with a Vietnamese national team.

Indonesian media believes Malaysia could defeat Vietnam in the Southeast Asian final.

Malaysia is extremely confident ahead of the final against Vietnam's U17.